About this site
Take a moment to think about the maps that were given to you as you ventured into the world. Where have they taken you? Have they led you astray?
It then occurred to me that this was not the first time I had been given a map which failed to show many things I could see right in front of my eyes. All through school and university I had been given maps of life and knowledge on which there was hardly a trace of many of the things that I most cared about and that seemed to me to be of the greatest possible importance to the conduct of my life. I remembered that for many years my perplexity had been complete; and no interpreter had come along to help me. It remained complete until I ceased to suspect the sanity of my perceptions and began, instead, to suspect the soundness of the maps.
Much has been said already about the map not being the territory. Maps are, after all, abstractions. And yet, how can we get on with life without first relying on the maps given to us by others? The task is twofold: to dispose of these when they no longer serve us, and to realize our own.
Metanoia is the blog where I engage in map-making. In doing so, I attempt to construct and deconstruct the paths that guide me through my life. I have chosen the title Metanoia for its meaning in psychology as a fundamental turnaround in one’s outlook towards life.
While I hesitate to establish the boundaries of this map, I can hint at a key area of focus. One of the central themes that I wish to explore is a humanist one. How can we, freed from the grasp of ideology, authority, and preconceived notions, move on to realize our individual capacity to transcend? Conversely, what are the patterns and structures that inhibit this realization?
In writing about these topics I stand on the shoulders of many other writers and thinkers. I would like to surface their ideas, as well as my own, for you to explore. I do not expect you to be interested in every topic, nor to agree with every one of my words. My only hope is to excite your curiosity, and to engage together in a moment of reflection.
Read more about starting this project at my personal blog.